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NOTE 23 January 2014: New posts are no longer posted to this blog. New stuff at my new blog, http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/ Please go there! All old and new posts are there, and you can also comment, too!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

PDX-Oly-Astoria Tour, Day 2: to Centralia

Misty mountains north of Kelso

I awoke this morning to rain. Looks like the further north I head, the likelihood that I'll see rain increases. Oh well. The first 15 miles out of Longview were soggy. I took a break outside of Castle Rock to make coffee and a snack in a covered picnic area. Of course the rain lets up when I'm under cover!

Oh yes, a little about the route. There are two primary mapped bike routes between Castle Rock and Centralia. The STP (Seattle-to-Portland) which stays west of I-5 and Adventure Cycling's "Pacific Coast" which stays to the east. On this trip I followed the STP 50% of the time and my own route the other 50%. I wanted to test some new to me roads. And the new roads were all nice, save for a short (1/4 mile) steep grade of over 10%. The climb was worth it for the views and quiet road.

The steep hill, near Vader WA

There was a couple down notes, though. Airport Rd, my preferred route between Chehalis and Centralia, was closed for construction, so I had to backtrack and use the busy, sucky main road between the two. Which led to a viaduct where bicycles were prohibited? Screw that. I rode it anyway.

I got to my warmshowers host in Centralia a little after 4. Showered, then headed downtown to enjoy a beer. Which is where I am right now.

About Me

I was born and bred in the diminutive State of Connecticut and have been living in Portland, Oregon, Cascadia, for a decade. I'm an "artist" (aka bohemian that occasionally draws) and used to work for a hostel. I've been drawing the mini-comic TEN FOOT RULE since 1996, which is a very long time in mini-comic years! I do a lot of flyer/poster art for various projects in Portland and around the world. I'm involved with the bicycle community in town and ride almost everywhere (don't own no car!) I love bike touring! I live with my sweetie April somewhere in the mysterious reaches of SE Portland.